Gamechanger: Romney once saved a dog’s life

posted at 6:41 pm on April 26, 2012 by Allahpundit

You can thank BuzzFeed’s Andrew Kaczynski for the front-page thumbnail. In all seriousness, this is a “gamechanger” in the literal sense of that term. Axelrod and his pals are playing a breathtakingly stupid game with the “dog wars” and this anecdote will in fact change voters’ perceptions if/when it enters wider media circulation. Romney 2012: Because “dog” plus “water” does not equal “stew.”

“We heard a whole bunch of screaming,” said Josh Romney, who immediately hopped onto his Jet Ski. “We tore out of there and my dad hopped on the other Jet Ski and came out right after us.”

Roughly 300 yards out onto the lake, six adult family members and their dog were floundering in the water, after their boat suddenly sprung a huge leak — sinking in less than 90 seconds, Josh said…

In the middle of the rescue, the governor actually took a dunking himself — thrown off the Jet Ski as one anxious boater scrambled aboard and tipped the craft off-balance.

The rescuing Romneys also managed to snatch the family dog, McKenzie, from a watery grave — grabbing the Scottish terrier first because it was the only passenger without a lifejacket.

“It looked like it wasn’t going to last much longer,” said Josh, who held the waterlogged pooch on the ride back to shore.

Hat tip to AEI’s Lazar Berman for rescuing that story from obscurity. Speaking of which, why exactly is it obscure? Why hasn’t the Romney camp done more to circulate it? I recall reading about it once before but it’s so far off the radar that it slipped my memory altogether. It’d be nice to have it firmly planted in readers’ minds in time for Gail Collins’s 8,000th column about Romney putting Seamus on the car roof.

Breaking on Hot Air

Blowback

Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.

Things like this are going to keep appearing, the Romneys are truly a great family. They don’t brag about stuff like this, that’s just not who they are. We haven’t even scratched the surface yet.

scotash on April 27, 2012 at 1:44 AM

Romney does have one legitimate weakness, though. He sometimes lives in a bit of a fantasy world. An example is when he said in MA that he was an avid hunter all his life when in fact he wasn’t. He could have said he has SUPPORTED hunting all his life, but he said he was a hunter and it came out that he never had a hunting license. So he sometimes gets a little wrapped up in his own exhaust.

I have a relative who was a journalist who lives in Utah and interviewed Romney during the Salt Lake winter Olympics or the prep therefor. She said she can’t remember exactly what it was now but during the course of that interview Romney told her something that she knew for a fact was a lie.

So the thing is, people who succeed whether it is in politics or in business tend to be higher up on the narcissism scale than the average person. The more narcissistic a person is, the more likely they sometimes live in a bit of a fantasy world and stretch the truth. This is not to be so much a criticism of Mitt Romney, it is probably a common trait among ALL or at least MOST of those who are successful at business and/or politics. But it points out something that bears watching.

If it was such a “youthful indiscretion”, why does he not come forward, denounce and apologize for it, and put the doubts to rest?

Swerve22 on April 27, 2012 at 3:03 AM

Because that would simply add journalistic “oxygen” to the story and continue the focus on it. He is trying to make it fade away. He doesn’t want to appear to be “reactive” to the initiatives of the other party. He wants to be seen has having the initiative and making the other side react. That was the entire point of the Seamus on the roof thing, trot out a story, take the initiative, and make Romney react to it on TV when being interviewed by Diane Sawyer. But that got turned around with the whole eating dog thing and so Obama is now trying to close the dampers and stop that whole line of thought.

To apologize would be seen as a reactive response to the other side. It would be seen as a “submissive” act. It would give the acknowledgement that Romney has the initiative on the issue, so Obama is going to ignore it.

That’s why we need a chorus of voices demanding that he apologize and denounce the act. Somebody needs to confront him about it and demand an apology at a town hall meeting or q&a. I guarantee he will gaffe bigtime if confronted in that way about it.

Okay, I get the frustration that so many of the really good stories about how Mitt lives his life don’t get told enough for people to really understand what a very deeply good man he is.

But the phrase “game changer” is exactly the problem… these stories are about real life, not the game of politics. How does one put a story like that in a speech about foreign policy… “America stands with Israel! And by the way there were once some people drowning… and they had a dog… and we saved them. America rejects the 1967 borders!”

Games are for children like Obama and Axelrod. Romney is a man, and wants to save the country.

Games are for the media to play.

So, media, start tooting Romney’s horn. He has a country to save, and you can help.

Speaking of which, why exactly is it obscure? Why hasn’t the Romney camp done more to circulate it?

I think it looks infinitely better for this to come from outside sources. Otherwise the response would be, “See, Romney’s gloating!” or some other such nonsense. Never mind that Obama gloats, boasts, etc. all the time (and usually about stuff that’s an unmitigated disaster), but Romney will be held to a different standard.

Makes him look much more humble, which I think will play well with voters swayed by this kind of thing. Also speaks to his character…and I say this as someone who isn’t crazy about Romney. Politically-speaking, that is.

In all seriousness, this is a “gamechanger” in the literal sense of that term.

Not really. Dog-on-the-roof, dog-rescue-in-the-water, dog-eating all equally irrelevant and all will have about the same effect on the final numbers, which is zero.

Say what you will about Romney’s conservatism. Between this, finding his partner’s daughter, and his amazing home life, we’ve nominated a paragon of human virtue and behavior to the presidency.

KingGold on April 26, 2012 at 6:47 PM

LOL, please. Hyperbole isn’t going to make Romney more “likable”. He picked up a bunch of people wearing life-jackets, something most of us would’ve done in the same situation. And he/they also saved the life-jacketless dog. Good for him, and it shows he isn’t a compulsive dog tormentor-murderer. But I don’t think any seriously thought he was.

I think it looks infinitely better for this to come from outside sources. Otherwise the response would be, “See, Romney’s gloating!” or some other such nonsense. Never mind that Obama gloats, boasts, etc. all the time (and usually about stuff that’s an unmitigated disaster), but Romney will be held to a different standard.

Makes him look much more humble, which I think will play well with voters swayed by this kind of thing. Also speaks to his character…and I say this as someone who isn’t crazy about Romney. Politically-speaking, that is.

englishqueen01 on April 27, 2012 at 7:10 AM

Good post.

Some people just haven’t figured out yet that Romney and his family don’t brag because they aren’t braggarts, and some of these people will never figure it out even if Jesus Himself vouched for them (no need for me to name any names – the people I’m referring to at HA couldn’t make their cynicism and hatred more obvious than they already are! :) )

..Hawk, honestly sorry I lost you. I meant no disrespect. It was from another thread where someone chastised us because of their supposed seniority. Also, I humbly ask you to cut me some slack. I am 1,000% invested in ABO and flat just got tired of the Eeyoreisms by the HG 35 — and yesterday was rock bottom for me.

I mean, we get it: they don’t like Romney.

Like your stuff and hope to earn your respect back but I ain’t gonna grovel. Still think the danger of an Obama re-election trumps what negatives Romney might have. It certainly ain’t anywhere near the troubled trash that BelligerentEd puts out on a daily basis.

..and., by the way, I got a few fogeys for my HA service here as well.

About the same number of people who give a rats 4th point about your opinions on religion.

hawkdriver on April 27, 2012 at 8:27 AM

Probably the same number of people who give a crap what you have to say hawk…

A couple of thousand people come to this site, a few dozen actually comment every day on several subjects, all with the idea that they can smack someone else silly with their “logic” and “wit” and “intelligently designed bullshit”.

You included, although like me you tend to sit back, eat your popcorn, and pop in every once in a while to smack those smacking others. Just like you “did” to me right now.

Things like this are going to keep appearing, the Romneys are truly a great family. They don’t brag about stuff like this, that’s just not who they are. We haven’t even scratched the surface yet. scotash on April 27, 2012 at 1:44 AM

Romney will turn around Obama’s doggone economy.

Romney will veto the Dog Buffet Rule.

A bonus is that Romney would’t brag about winning a war if he opposed the very initiative [The Surge] which won it. The contrast between the two is stark.

I have a relative who was a journalist who lives in Utah and interviewed Romney during the Salt Lake winter Olympics or the prep therefor. She said she can’t remember exactly what it was now but during the course of that interview Romney told her something that she knew for a fact was a lie.

crosspatch on April 27, 2012 at 3:00 AM

My best friend’s cousin’s wife’s sister’s neighbor’s father-in-law swears that Romney is the spawn of Satan.

I know this thread is nearly run out.. But,.. From what I can see, to me it seems the Romney family has a quiet nobility to it, a very very old fashioned American trait.

If given the chance I believe most Americans would do the right thing in the same manner..

but to me, that’s what makes this incident special.. it gives you a little insight, that Americans without stopping to think about bit, will reach inside for that little piece of hero that lives inside all of us.

This story is special not because what Romney and his sons did was extraordinary,..

but because it wasn’t..

They demonstrated quietly, without fanfare of greek columns.. he’s one of us..

not perfect, not super extra special… just one..

of

us..

I’ll vote for him,.. and sleep just fine.. the best of our presidents weren’t giants when they entered the Office,.. they grew inside, as the times demanded.. I think Romney can grow.

It must have been quite a job for Mitt Romney and his son to rescue six people and a dog on two JetSki’s, especially if one of them managed to capsize Mitt Romney’s JetSki. They may have needed to make two or three round-trips over 300 yards to get everyone back to shore safely.

Although lots of other ordinary people would probably do the same thing as the Romneys did in such a situation, lots of other people wouldn’t. Compare what the Romneys did to the actions of a late Senator from Massachusetts, who was since re-elected four times?

The point is…Mitt Romney and his son are generous, caring people willing to go out of their way to rescue people in need, and they didn’t brag about it for political gain, but out of human compassion. It will be hard for Democrats to portray Romney as pushing Grandma over a cliff, if the real Romney rescues six people from a leaking boat.

By the way, hats off also to the Democrat mayor of Newark who rescued a woman from a burning building.

Years ago, a man visited the home of the Obamas. As he approached the front door, his eye caught something really strange. He did a double take, muttered to himself and then looked a third time. He wondered if he had seen correctly — it looked like a dog with a wooden leg!
When Obama answered the door and greeted the visitor, the visitor blurted out: Did I see right? Is there really a dog out there with a wooden leg?” Obama smiled. “Oh, that would be old Fluffy you saw. He’s the finest dog a man could ever hope to have — and smart! Let me tell you a little about that dog. At a fundraiser some time ago, that dog did special tricks for each of the potential donors which pleased them so much we took in an absolute fortune!
“There’s another thing, too, a little more personal. One night a couple of years ago a fire broke out in the house and old Fluffy smelled the smoke. He came in the back door, woke up the wife and kids and myself and we all got out safely. There is no question about it — that night old Fluffy saved all our lives and you know that is not the sort of thing a man is going to soon forget.”
“Why,” the traveler said, “That is all absolutely amazing! I have never heard of a dog like this before! Fantastic! But tell me, how did he get that wooden leg?
Obama laughed and said, “Well, naturally, when you have a dog that smart, you don’t want to eat him all at one time!”